Infection
by Kitten With A Tie
Summary: Plot goes on as story goes on. Rated M just in case.


**Takes place after The Last Hope. c:**

_x x x_

Brambleclaw was hunting alone in the forest. The dark shadows didn't frighten him, nor did the silence that would normally make a cat nervous.

He felt relaxed. The shadows hid him from the cats who would stare at him with their piercing glares, as if he was some evil cat. The silence would make sure that any cat that hissed a lie about him, he would surely hear it.

Brambleclaw sighed. Sometimes he wished that Tigerstar had never been so power-hungry. He wanted the whispering to stop.

He had proved that several times- had he not? The sound of a paw stomping on a twig made him jump out of his thoughts. Fur bristling, he turned toward the noise and let his fur bristle.

His amber eyes darted to a shape as it slid out of the shadows. It was as big as him, with pitch black fur and gold eyes narrowed into slits.

It had a mouth with large, with giant, sharp black teeth as big as rocks and a long, black forked tongue that was slitting in and out of its crooked mouth. Brambleclaw was frozen with fear, his eyes wide.

"Hello, Brambleclaw," the creature hissed. It's long, thick black tail lashed back and forth. "You want all that pain to go away, right?" Brambleclaw didn't reply. His heart hammered against his chest, and the blood roared in his ears.

Brambleclaw finally managed to regain his speech, and he quickly straightened himself up and faced the strange cat. "I... I do," he murmured. "I want them to actually think of me as a loyal cat."

The creature began to circle him, running its tail over his pelt. Brambleclaw shivered. It felt like a cat was running a thin rock over his pelt. Suddenly, the creature's tail jerked. Brambleclaw yowled in pain as the tail entered his shoulder.

"Stop it!" he cried, and tried to get away, but the creature swung around and clamped its jaws over his neck.

"What..." His breath grew short and labored. The teeth were lodeged on his neck, and he was surprised that it wouldn't break his windpipe. Eventually, the creature let go and pulled its tail out of his shoulder.

"Now, the transformation will be slow and painful," it hissed, flicking its tongue over his shoulder and neck. "But it will be worth it." Brambleclaw collapsed to the ground. His neck throbbed and his shoulder burned. Thick, black goo seeped from the wounds and formed a puddle of sticky pus around him.

"You won't regret this, Brambleclaw," the creature told him, before vanishing in a cloud of smoky black.

_x x x_

Meanwhile, at camp, Squirrelflight was walking through the camp, peeking her head in each den. She bumped into Leafpool, and yelped in surprise. "Are you alright?" Leafpool asked, her ears pricked.

"I can't find Brambleclaw." Leafpool flattened her pricked ears. Brambleclaw was Squirrelflight's mate, and Leafpool secretly loved Brambleclaw.

"Well... you could ask Dovewing," she murmured. The fluffy cat was in a special prophecy, and had the power to stretch her senses out and see anything.

Squirrelflight's green eyes brightened. "Of course!" She turned around in trotted in the direction of the apprentice den, where Dovewing and her sister had to stay since the warriors den was full.

"Dovewing?" she peeked inside, eyes stretching as she tried to pick out the fluffy gray shape of the prophecied cat.

Squirrelflight grumbled as she realized that Dovewing was gone. She then padded inside as she saw that Foxleap's nest was empty too. Her lips twitched into a smile. Dovewing would be in the nursery soon, expecting the reddish brown tom's kits.

Ivypool was no where to be found either. Squirrelflight decided to look for Brambleclaw later. She left the apprentice den, but then she ran into Brambelclaw.

His amber eyes were wide and dull, and his pupil had largened, and the amber part was nearly gone. His pelt was matted, and Squirrelflight tilted her head as she saw bits of black liquid in his fur.

"Brambleclaw, are you okay?" she asked. Brambelclaw shook his pelt out. "Nothing. I hunted near the Thunderpath, and a monster sprayed me with some black grit stuff." Squirrelflight felt a little suspicious, but she decided to not bother her mate anymore.

They trotted to the warriors den, but carefully picking their way over tails and outstretched paws. As she settled in her nest, Brambleclaw didn't curl up next to , he lay at the very back of the den so that the moon curled on his pelt and made the black grit shine a pale grey. Squirrelflight closed her eyes, even though her heart sank into her belly and her throat went dry.

_x x x_

**As the creature said, Brambleclaw's transformation will be slow and painful. c:**


End file.
